Named targets, not "media impressions."
A reporter list with names, beats, and last-three-pieces context. A specific goal for the cycle: TechCrunch, Forbes, Inc., Axios Pro, or a vertical trade that your buyer actually reads.
For founders. Seed to Series B.
Your board asked when you will be in TechCrunch. You have no idea who to call.
GetDigitize runs press and GEO for venture-backed founders, Seed through Series B. Two to three named press hits in 90 days. A founder thought-leadership flywheel that does not eat your calendar. Per-campaign or monthly, no annual lock-in.
The pattern
Why generic PR fails founders.
Most firms were built to service a 2015 enterprise client with a 200K quarterly budget and a 60-day approval cycle. You are not that. Your round closes next month and the announce window is eight days long.
- You sent a cold pitch to six reporters. Four opened it. Zero replied. The list was bought from a database.
- Your LinkedIn post about the round got 14 likes. Your co-founder's mom was one of them.
- A name-brand agency wants $14,000 per month on a 12-month retainer and a Q1 strategy doc before anyone picks up a phone.
- You spent seven hours last week on content that lives inside your CMS and nowhere else.
- Your VC's comms partner is running six other companies this quarter. Your announce is a line item on a shared calendar.
Criteria
What a founder actually needs from a PR firm.
Speed that matches the round.
Announce windows are eight days, not eight weeks. A firm that can start pitching in week two and negotiate embargo by week three.
A voice that sounds like the founder.
Ghostwritten LinkedIn posts and bylines that sound like you, not like the agency. Your investors can tell the difference. So can your future hires.
Compounding visibility, not one hit.
Every placement feeds Google rankings and AI Overview citations for the long tail of buyer searches. Press is the input. GEO is the output.
Pricing that fits a runway model.
Per-campaign or monthly, no 12-month lock. If the next raise slips a quarter, you can pause without a lawyer.
The match
How GetDigitize delivers each.
Reporter list with beat context.
Every Launch project ships with 40 to 60 named reporters, ranked by fit, with links to their last three pieces and a note on what they are writing about this quarter. No bought lists.
Media relations serviceWeek-one start. Week-three pitch.
Kickoff call in 48 hours. Angle workshop in week one. Reporter briefings starting week two. Embargoes negotiated by week three. You are pitching before most firms finish onboarding.
Launch project, $4,500Ghostwriting that sounds like you.
Two ghostwritten founder pieces a month on the retainer: LinkedIn posts, bylines, podcast briefs. We record a 30-minute voice sample on day one and write to it. You approve every word.
Brand PR and thought leadershipPress feeds GEO. GEO feeds inbound.
After every placement we push the downstream: schema updates, llms.txt, a pillar page that cites the coverage, and AI Overview targeting. Month six you start to see direct inbound from ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Digital, GEO, and SEOLaunch project or monthly. 30-day notice.
$4,500 for a single announce cycle. $3,500 per month for ongoing work, with a 30-day notice. Seed-stage startups under $2M raised get 20 percent off the Launch.
Full pricingA day in the life
Tuesday, week six of your Series A announce.
Monday at 6 a.m. your strategist sends the announce-week plan in Notion: three tier-one reporters briefed, two tier-two embargoed, a LinkedIn post staged for the founder (you) at 7:14 a.m. Tuesday. You skim it over coffee, suggest one tweak. Your strategist updates by 8.
Tuesday morning the TechCrunch piece lands at 6 a.m. Your LinkedIn post hits at 7:14. By 10 a.m. Forbes has asked for an exclusive follow-up. By noon your board chair has texted a screenshot. Your strategist is already drafting the byline pitch for next week, quoting the TechCrunch hit as the peg. Wednesday you take a 30-minute Axios interview prepped by a one-page brief. Thursday a Perplexity citation pops up for your category.
Total founder time this week: four hours. Total spend this cycle: $4,500 plus the $3,500 retainer that carries the flywheel forward. You close your laptop Friday with three placements, one byline in motion, and a founder post that did 41,000 impressions.
"Four hours of my time. Three placements. One TechCrunch piece my board chair texted me about. That is the whole product."Founder, Series A fintech. Name on request.
Founder case study
A Series A announce, done properly.
SERIES A SAAS
Northbeam AI: three TechCrunch beats, one announce
A 22-person AI infrastructure startup briefed three TechCrunch beat reporters before announce day. Result: a feature, two follow-ups, and an Inman cite. Total founder time in-cycle: 6 hours.
Read case studySEED TO SERIES B
More founder work
Launches, funding announces, exec hires, and the monthly thought-leadership flywheel that carries the brand between news pegs. Names on request during the intro call.
Browse the libraryThe plan for founders
Start with a Launch. Graduate to a monthly retainer.
Most founders start with a single Launch project tied to a news peg (round, product, data drop) and roll into the monthly retainer for the thought-leadership flywheel. Two plans. Clear numbers.
PROJECT
Launch Campaign
$4,500 / project
A single announce cycle: funding, launch, exec hire, data release.
- Angle workshop and three pitch hypotheses
- Press release plus three pitch templates
- 40 to 60 named reporters, ranked
- Six weeks of outreach
- One ghostwritten LinkedIn post and one byline pitch
- 20 percent off for seed-stage under $2M raised
MONTHLY RETAINER
Founder Thought-Leadership Flywheel
$3,500 / mo
Ongoing press, ghostwriting, and GEO. 30-day notice.
- Three to five named press targets per month
- Two ghostwritten founder pieces (LinkedIn or byline)
- Weekly outreach with reply tracking
- Monthly GEO audit and content priority list
- Shared Notion board, always visible
- Monthly 45-minute strategy call
Founder objections
Questions we hear on the intro call.
How fast can we land a TechCrunch piece?
If you have a clear news peg (funding, launch, a data release, an exec hire) and a real angle, six to ten weeks from kickoff is the usual range. We brief the beat reporter two to three weeks before announce day, negotiate exclusive or embargo, and ship. We cannot promise a hit. We can promise the reporter reads the pitch, because we do not send from a database.
Do you work with pre-revenue startups?
Yes, when there is a credible news peg and a real product. Pre-seed and seed companies under 2 million dollars raised get 20 percent off the Launch project. We decline pre-revenue founders who have not picked a category or a buyer yet, because there is nothing to pitch.
Will the founder need to do interviews?
For tier-one coverage, yes. Plan on two to four 30-minute calls with reporters during an announce cycle. We prep you with a briefing doc, a talking-points sheet, and a 20-minute dry run. Most founders are ready after one cycle.
What if we miss a target outlet?
We regroup. The Launch project commits to 40 to 60 named reporters. If the tier-one target passes, we work the tier-two list (trade press, regional business journals, niche newsletters) and salvage the cycle. We also rewrite and re-pitch at the next news peg, at no extra fee if you stay on a monthly retainer.
How much of the founder's time does this take?
Budget three to four hours a week for a monthly retainer: one 45-minute strategy call, two ghostwritten LinkedIn reviews (15 minutes each), and one hour for reporter interviews when coverage lands. During an announce cycle that doubles for two weeks. We write. You approve. That is the deal.
Can you also handle GEO so we show up in ChatGPT?
Yes. Every retainer includes a monthly Generative Engine Optimization audit: schema, llms.txt, content briefs, and citation tracking across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Claude. Press is the input. LLM citation is the compounding output.
Does the VC firm's PR partner replace you?
Your VC's in-house comms team is great for announcing a fund or coordinating a portfolio moment. They are not a dedicated firm for your brand. Founders we work with usually run us alongside the VC partner, not instead of. We coordinate on announce day.
Related reading
Services, comparisons, and alternatives.
01
Media relations
Pitches, press releases, embargo strategy, exclusive negotiation. The service that ships founder coverage.
View service 02Brand PR and thought leadership
Ghostwritten founder bylines, podcast booking, and a LinkedIn voice that your investors recognize.
View service 03Digital, GEO, and SEO
Schema, llms.txt, AI Overview targeting, and content built to be cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity.
View service 04Side by side
How GetDigitize compares to traditional firms on price, deliverables, and what a retainer actually buys.
Compare firms 05Edelman alternatives
Why founders of Seed to Series B companies pick a five-person firm over a 6,000-person network.
Read comparison 06Founder PR Launch Playbook
A free 12-step checklist for a Series A or product announce, including a sample pitch and reporter scoring sheet.
Read free